Photo of the Walls Unit gurney from Britannica Student Encyclopedia 25 Years of Lethal Injection: What Have We Learned?Friday, December 7Texas Prison Museum (map) This Friday marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the first execution by lethal injection in the United States. Naturally, Texas, along with the city of Huntsville -- sometimes referred to as the "execution capital of the world"-- took this honor. With executions effectively on hold in Texas while the U.S. Supreme Court... more ›

Several state reps, including Joe Farias and David Leibowitz, and Congressman Ciro Rodriguez have recently begun to ask questions about the Texas Department of Transportation's ad campaign promoting toll roads and the use of budgetary funds to lobby Congress. Specifically, they are asking the Attorney General whether TxDOT's actions are legal. Legal or not, ad campaigns and lobbying seem like a poor use of taxpayer money for any state agency, especially one that is... more ›

One of the country's biggest private mortgage companies goes belly-up, leaving 120 Austinites newly jobless The Texas Department of Transportation releases a list of over 2,000 "structurally deficient" bridges across the state, with 10 in Travis County Nicole and Jeffrey Rank of Corpus Christi are awarded $80k after being wrongfully arrested at a Bush rally in 2004 Tax-free holiday weekend starts on Friday Whole Foods gets the go-ahead to buy out Wild Oats The... more ›

Texas Death Row: Executions in the Modern Era is too small (and probably too grim) to make a good coffee table book. It is too stark and bare to be considered literature, or even a “true crime” book. The book is merely a distillation of the public domain information preserved by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. But none of this takes away from the creepy and bone chilling, if understated, weight of this book.... more ›

A San Antonio-area nonprofit is suing to have their chimpanzees returned from Louisiana Is someone trying to take down the Dollar General? The City of Austin has opted to extend the waterway ban on Lake Austin until Friday The Texas Department of Transportation begins inspections on possibly suspect bridges A 6-year-old girl in North Texas crashed her bike into a parked trailer and gets her head punctured by 4 inches of rebar Bars and... more ›

Local media discovers, loves Craigslist 41-year-old drunk driver manages to slam into two houses in North Austin Just one of the sixteen amendments proposed for the November ballot in Texas: stripping the constitutional powers of the Inspector of Hides and Animals Roughly four percent of Texas bridges are considered "structurally deficient," says the Texas Department of Transportation Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo announces his executive staff A lawyer for the Federal Trade Commission calls... more ›

The Texas Department of Agriculture has put up a list of Texas businesses selling gas or diesel during the last 60 days whose pumps aren't compliant with state laws. You could be getting less fuel than you're paying for because such businesses aren't conducting proper maintenance on their pumps. While a large number of the businesses seem to be in Taylor County or Harris County, there are a few from our area on the list.... more ›

Texas state troopers at the Department of Public Safety (DPS) proudly announced yesterday that they managed to seize a record number of drugs in 2006. All told, an estimated $335.9 million worth of drugs were confiscated during routine traffic stops. Most of the loot, as you can see in the slideshow above, was as cleverly hidden as possible, often stashed in tar machines, wrapped around tires, or stored in the axles of pickup trucks.... more ›

The Texas Observer is releasing a fascinating story this week about a new intelligence database called the “Texas Data Exchange” (aka, “TDEx”). The stated purpose of this database is to catch criminals, hunt down terrorists and allow law enforcement agencies throughout Texas to share valuable information. Close to $4 million has been spent so far on this behemoth, and it’s already chock full of records. Now, the existence of this database is hardly news; such databases are often necessary for effective law enforcement these days, assuming they're used ethically for their intended purpose. The real story here is that TDEx isn’t being run by the state's top law enforcement agency, the Texas Department of Public Safety, as required by current law. It’s being run by Gov. Rick Perry’s office. more ›

Earlier this week, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers stumbled upon a mammoth marijuana shipment bound for Houston. Officers stopped the tanker truck that was carrying the stash during a routine traffic check in Jim Hogg County, perhaps because of the vehicle's "fictitious markings." They were probably shocked to discover that the truck contained nearly 9,000 pounds of weed. The driver, Reynaldo Hovey Jr of South Texas, now faces federal drug possession charges.... more ›

Creativity thrives at the University of Texas Department of Theater and Dance, and they're out to prove it in a big way: next week, they're hosting the fourth biennial Cohen New Works Festival, a seven day whirlwind of original performances, readings, choreography, guest artist panels, and workshops. Founded in 2001 in honor of David Mark Cohen, a UT Professor of Theater and Dance and respected playwright, the Cohen New Works Festival celebrates original works... more ›

Anyone who's recently purchased a vehicle from Central Austin's Century Motor Car might want to give those folks a call: your personal information is probably strewn along Burnet Road for all to see. Employees at the car lot were relocating to an adjacent building when they, in their haste, decided to toss their clients' paperwork in the trash without first shredding it. The dumpster used turned out to be busted, and winds scattered the... more ›

The Texas Department of Transportation's plan to replace the part of the four-lane stretch of 290/71 west of MoPac with a 12-lane, partially elevated superhighway has come up against opposition from the people who live nearby and would have to look at it and hear it. As we mentioned a few months ago, a group of those people have come together to form the Fix290 Coalition, which is proposing a relatively sensible 8-lane alternative. more ›

October is Texas Wine Month, and if you've been feeling the need to embrace your inner Lucy (or Ethel) then tomorrow might be your night. Head out to Central Market for the annual Wine Romp and Grape Stomp sponsored by Central Market and the Texas Department of Agriculture and for $10 you get the opportunity to get your feet messy, sample Texas wines and hear live music from Austin’s McLemore Avenue. more ›

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DMJM Harris, the consultant hired by the Texas Department of Transportation to look at ways to squeeze more lanes onto MoPac between Lake Austin and Parmer, says that they will likely announce their solution in December. That "solution" appears to be to squeeze another lane in between the existing lane and the train tracks. That lane would not be for normal traffic - only buses and people willing to pay tolls. A lane for... more ›

The Don't Mess With Texas slogan, created in 1986 for the Texas Department of Transportation, is a candidate for Advertising Week's Favorite Slogan award. The ad campaign, created by Austin design agency GSD&M, was developed to help reduce littering on the roadways of Texas. Although popular within Texas, we'll have to wait and see how popular it is nationwide once voting is completed on September 29th. Others in the running include: “It Takes a... more ›

The 21st Annual Lake Travis Parks Cleanup is this Saturday, June 17 from 9 a.m. to noon. Last year, the event drew more than 400 volunteers who were able to clean up over 4,500 pounds of garbage. All linterested volunteers are welcome, and will be invited to a thank-you party following the event, which will have free t-shirts, food, and entertainment. This year's event is part of the Texas Department of Transportation's Don't Mess with... more ›

KEYE reports today on a new initiative by the Texas Department of Transportation and Austin waste management, aimed at preventing all that crap you're stowing in your truck beds from flying out on the highway and hitting, say, a nondescript white family sedan: more ›

We saw this horribly sad piece of news on News 8 Austin this morning. A female cyclist was struck and killed by two automobiles yesterday on Bee Caves Rd. at the 360 crossing. Witnesses say a van pulling a trailer clipped the woman who fell from her bike and was then run over by a grey car. The car continued down the road. Disgusting! more ›

If you drive a pick-em-up truck, you best watch your back. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the top three makes of automobile stolen in 2005 were all pick-up trucks. We are not sure exactly what the allure to trucks is or if maybe they are just easier to steal or if they are so ubiquitous in the Lone Star State that crooks feel they can go less-noticed in a stolen one... more ›

It almost sounds like the premise for an episode of Alias: enroute from New Mexico to Kilgore, two vials of radioactive material went missing, and they've no idea where they went! It seems the bottles were shipped by Albuquerque, NM firm Pro Technics, who packed them in a "green, World War II-era metal ammunition box." The Texas Department of State Health Services suspects they may be in Austin. Pro Technics is offering a $1000... more ›